Dallas Arboretum

We have been waiting for it to cool off a little so we can go visit the botanical gardens downtown, and lately it has been pretty cool. Except for the day we choose to actual go. Sunday was a beautiful day, but it was close to 90 degrees outside. We were burning up. In addition, everyone else had the same idea we did. The gardens were incredibly packed, it was hard to maneuver around the hundreds of strollers. The Great Pumpkin Festival was going on so I think that had a lot to do with how many people there were. The numerous amounts of pumpkins was a sight to see. There were sooo many pumpkins it was amazing. All the pumpkins lined the walk ways on both sides throughout the entire park. They also had a section with all of the many different kinds of squashes. I never knew half on them existed.

Salt Lake City, Utah

Our trip to Utah was an amazing trip. Utah was at its finest, the weather was absolutely perfect! The trees had all changed their color, and we were able to see the small window of fall. We enjoyed spending time with family and going around visiting all of our favorite places to eat. To name a few: Trio, The Pie, Lone Star Taqueria, and Tony Caputo’s. I flew up earlier to spend a couple of days with the Isaacsons. It was so fun to finally see and hold Mason, he is so precious. Kent was patient enough to let me do a little family photo shoot for them and I think the pictures turned out so cute. Ryan and his parents flew in on Friday, and Saturday we attended a wedding and flew home Sunday night. Short but sweet.

some (a ton) pictures from our trip:
(I know some of you already saw some of these on Janelle's blog, but I love them too!)

Nasher Sculpture Center

During TX vs OU weekend Ryan and I intended on seeing the King Tut Exhibit on display at the Dallas Art Museum but it was far too crowded with all the people in town for the game, so we found ourselves across the street at the Nasher Sculpture Center. We enjoyed brunch, a ballet performance, and a few of the following sculptures...

American, born Sweden, 1929
Clothespin, 1974
Bronze, 47 3/4 x 16 1/4 x 7 in.

American, born 1942
Walking to the Sky, 2004
Stainless steel and painted fiberglass, Pole: 100 ft. high

Polish, born 1930
Bronze Crowd, 1990-91
Bronze, 71 1/8 x 23 x 15 1/2 in.

Texas BBQ trail

During our trip to central Texas we decided to visit a few of the iconic Texas Barbecue places on the "Texas BBQ Trail." Our trail began on our way south. Passing through Waco, we stopped at Rudy's. Although, the Rudy's in Austin is alot better. The remainder of our trail went through Luling where we visited Luling City Market. Luling City Market is one of the oldest and most legendary Barbecue restaurants in the nation. The meat is purchased in a separate room from the seating area. The town and restaurant itself were very charismatic. However the meat was a little dry. We tried the classics: ribs, brisket, sausage. We attributed the meat's dryness to the fact that we were visiting at an off-hour in the afternoon and the meet had probably been prime during the lunch rush. The character of the place was Luling City Market's biggest appeal. Our next stop was Lockhart; a town known for Texas barbecue. We arrived at Smitty's market with our bellies still full from Luling. The town of Lockhart had the same appeal that can be found in many of the small central Texas towns on the BBQ trail. Smitty's Market was very similar to Luling City Market in the food and the separation of the dining room from the meat cookers. Smoke filled the entryway and upon negotiating the dark, black corridor leading to the kitchen we noticed the walls were all iron. Lots of character and lots of meat were found on our BBQ trail.









The orbs in the pictures are a result of the thick smoke in the air.

Part Two:
The remainder of our trip we floated down the Guadalupe river, visited the Alamo and walk around the historic Market Square in San Antonio.

BIG Tex

This past weekend Ryan and I went to the Texas State Fair, it was a blast. We tried lots of fair food, took a ride on the Texas size ferris wheel, and looked at all the new cars coming out. We tried to sign up to be judges for the chili contest, but they were already full, dang it! Every year they have a fried food contest so this year the winner went to Chicken fried bacon. It cost 10 tickets for a basket! I did not want a WHOLE basket I just wanted to sample it, after one piece it was enough to get the idea. It tasted like fried food. We also tried a fried smore, that too tasted like a ball of fried food. The other runner ups were: a fried Jelly Belly, fried banana split, fried grilled cheese sandwich, fried chocolate truffle, and the list goes on. Ryan got to meet Big Tex himself (he is a huge animated character that tells you what is going on at the fair that day in a really cheesy Texan voice.) We missed out on the pig race which I really wanted to see. Instead we saw some dogs do some silly tricks. All in all it was a fun day filled of entertainment.

Mason Scott Isaccson

Congratulations!! to Janelle and Kent!! Yesterday at 3:10 baby Mason Scott Isaccson was born (Excellent choice on the name, if I do say so myself.) He is 7.20 pounds and 20 inches long, with a full head of hair. Janelle, Kent and Mason are all doing great. Grandpa and Grandma Meador arrived just minutes before the pushing started and 2 1/2 hours later Mason was born, Good timing! We are all so happy to have the first boy join the family for two generations! He will be our pride and joy. I love you guys so much! Isn't he precious....
These pictures are from a camera phone so not too clear, but he still looks handsome!